p.s. to everyone else on board, genius here posted 2 seasons of Ball St record after Hoke left. By the same rationale, you could argue Brian Kelly is a bad coach bc Cincinnatti lost their bowl game and had a bad year after Kelly left them.

I posted the two seasons following for a reason: to demonstrate that Hoke "built" nothing. Hoke struggled for five years at Ball State, including four consecutive losing seasons. Then he went barely over .500, and the following year he had his magical 12-1 season and left. The next season Ball State went 2-10. A near mirror swap of their record. Is it that crazy to suggest that, perhaps, that 12-1 season was built on dumb luck? The right players in the right places at the right times? The Brian Kelly situation is different. He posted three great seasons in a row at Cinncy, including two BCS bowl appearances. Though the school has dropped off after he left, not to the extent of Ball State.

Yes it is crazy to suggest that a 12-1 season is "dumb luck" esp when Ball St pretty much blew out all the teams they beat that season including a 31-0 defeat at Toledo who came in to Ann Arbor and beat Michigan. BTW Cincy went 4-8 this year without Kelly which is a huge fall from the BCS.

January 5th, 2011, 7:39 pm

wjb21ndtown

Re: ***OFFICIAL: Michigan fires Rodriguez after three season

The Legend wrote:

BTW Cincy went 4-8 this year without Kelly which is a huge fall from the BCS.

How did ND do?

January 6th, 2011, 11:48 am

steensn

RIP Killer

Joined: June 26th, 2006, 1:03 pmPosts: 13429

Re: ***OFFICIAL: Michigan fires Rodriguez after three season

wjb21ndtown wrote:

The Legend wrote:

BTW Cincy went 4-8 this year without Kelly which is a huge fall from the BCS.

How did ND do?

8-5

With a bowl game win, something they didn't even do last year as they didn't get to a bowl game going 6-6, 7-6 the year before, 3-9 the year before that.

The rumor is that Ross is pursuing Harbaugh simply so that the 49ers will go somewhere else. Then, when Harbaugh is about to sign on with the Dolphins, Ross will change his mind at the last minute and Harbaugh will be forced to go to Michigan. This is why he has yet to fire Sparano. Kind of far-fetched, but Ross is one of richest and most powerful Michigan fans in the world.

January 6th, 2011, 2:19 pm

regularjoe12

Def. Coordinator – Teryl Austin

Joined: March 30th, 2006, 12:48 amPosts: 4212Location: Davison Mi

Re: ***OFFICIAL: Michigan fires Rodriguez after three season

that would be dirty pool and totally awsome....but I hear the fins are offerning like 8 mil (according to this mornings sports center)...I have a hard time buying thats what could happen

For the past three years I have been granted unfettered access to the Michigan football program, from the meeting room to the locker room, to write a book about what I've seen. I thought I knew college football, and particularly Michigan football, as well as anyone. But after three years of seeing everything up close, I can tell you this unequivocally: I had no idea.

If the tenure of Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez, who was fired Wednesday, looked chaotic to outsiders, it appeared positively crazy from the inside.

When Michigan's 63-year-old head coach, Lloyd Carr, announced his retirement in 2007 after 13 seasons, athletic director Bill Martin seemed genuinely surprised. At the outset of a monthlong search for his successor, ESPN reported what just about everyone suspected: former U-M player and assistant Les Miles, who was about to lead Louisiana State to a national title, would succeed Mr. Carr.

But contrary to popular belief and published reports, Michigan never tried to contact Mr. Miles, and his calls to Ann Arbor went unreturned. (Mr. Martin, who's now chairman of Bank of Ann Arbor, said Wednesday that he had been traveling in search of a coach.) Mr. Martin instead offered the position to Rutgers' Greg Schiano, who turned Michigan down.

Just a few weeks earlier, Rich Rodriguez, who popularized the spread offense that most colleges now use, led West Virginia to the cusp of the national-title game. When Mr. Rodriguez asked his bosses for higher salaries for his assistants, he was surprised to hear them say, take it or leave it. (A West Virginia athletics spokesman declined to comment.)

When Michigan came calling, Mr. Rodriguez—who had turned down Alabama the year before—was willing to listen. In December 2007, Mr. Rodriguez became only the fourth outsider in more than a century to coach the Wolverines.

Just a week into his tenure, West Virginia sued Mr. Rodriguez for full payment of his $4 million buyout. He and U-M ultimately paid it. The next year, a front-page article in the Detroit Free Press alleged, among other things, that Mr. Rodriguez's players spent more than 40 hours a week on football, more than twice the NCAA limit. The NCAA concluded 14 months later that U-M had exceeded the limit by about 20 minutes and that the violations were "relatively technical." Still, the charges had become national news.

None of the off-field ordeals would have mattered so much if the Wolverines were winning. But Mr. Rodriguez's first team, with one returning offensive starter, stumbled its way to a 3-9 finish, breaking the program's 41-year streak of winning seasons and 33-year run of bowl games. The Wolverines improved to 5-7 his second year, and 7-5 this past season, behind quarterback Denard Robinson, the Big Ten Player of the Year. But the defense went the other direction, causing the Wolverines to end the season with three straight blowouts, the last by Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl, 52-14.

Wednesday, after the third year of Mr. Rodriguez's six-year contract, new athletic director Dave Brandon fired him.

Looking at Michigan's past three seasons, it's not hard to divine dozens of management lessons. But none of them would resolve college football's central conflict: It's a billion-dollar business with revenue that can fund entire athletic departments and passions that can fuel endowment drives, but it's all built on the backs of stressed-out coaches and amateur athletes.

College athletic departments now resemble modern racehorses: They're bigger, faster and more powerful than ever, but still supported by the same spindly legs that break with increasing frequency. Michigan's $226 million renovation of its stadium—already the largest in the country, and twice as big as many NFL stadiums—the spiraling salaries (Mr. Rodriguez makes $2.5 million, which is the market rate) and the seemingly endless need to build new facilities for its 26 other varsity programs all depend on selling football tickets, seat licenses, luxury suites and TV rights. And all that still depends on the arm of a 20-year-old quarterback, or the foot a 19-year-old kicker.

From the inside, I discovered how complicated the game had become, requiring coaches to work 100-hour weeks recruiting, practicing and watching endless hours of film—only to see that 19-year-old kid miss the kick. When that happens, the head coach can expect to get thousands of nasty emails and very little sleep.

The coaches have to ask their players to work almost as hard-not just on the field but in the weight room and the classroom. I followed Mr. Robinson for one day, which started at 7 a.m. with treatment for his swollen knee, followed by weightlifting, classes, an interview with ESPN Radio, more treatment, meetings, practice, a third round of treatment, dinner and study table. When he walked out of the academic center at 10 p.m., two adults who had been waiting all night for him in the parking lot approached him to sign a dozen glossy photos. I went home exhausted—and I hadn't done anything more than take notes.

Working out with strength coaches was far tougher. In six weeks, they doubled my bench press and tripled my squat, but after each workout I collapsed on my couch—not to nap but to whimper in the fetal position.

How those players got any school work done was a mystery—and thanks to Michigan's self-imposed penalties, the Wolverines actually worked fewer hours than the NCAA allowed. It's not against the rules—that's the real story there—it's just a very hard life.

If Mr. Robinson—or any of the 124 other players—does any of these things poorly, or not at all, that's the head coach's problem. And if any of those failures hit the papers, the talk shows or the blogs, it's an even bigger headache.

This beast we have created may be bigger and stronger, but the coach's job security still rests on kids who weigh 300 pounds and squat twice that, but still can't grow a respectable mustache.

As for any aspiring big-time college coaches out there, just remember: Be careful what you wish for.

January 6th, 2011, 4:00 pm

wjb21ndtown

Re: ***OFFICIAL: Michigan fires Rodriguez after three season

steensn wrote:

wjb21ndtown wrote:

The Legend wrote:

BTW Cincy went 4-8 this year without Kelly which is a huge fall from the BCS.

How did ND do?

8-5

With a bowl game win, something they didn't even do last year as they didn't get to a bowl game going 6-6, 7-6 the year before, 3-9 the year before that.

That's not bad. I don't keep up on ND sports, but I thought it was going to be worse than that. Kelly seemed to make huge coaching mistakes in the MSU and UofM games, but maybe he cleaned them up. I will say that if Crist (sp?) didn't get hurt they would have likely beat UofM, and they only lost to MSU after the special teams blunder. I liked Kelly. He was my cousin's coach at GVSU, but I couldn't understand some of the decisions he made last season. I hope that ND football and UofM football gets back on track, so we can start watching real, in conference games again, soon!!!

January 6th, 2011, 4:35 pm

LionsFan4Life

Fired Head Coach (0-16 record)

Joined: October 30th, 2004, 12:30 pmPosts: 2205Location: Austin, TX

Re: ***OFFICIAL: Michigan fires Rodriguez after three season

Just throwing this out there.. but something tells me Brady Hoke is going to be the next HC at UofM

_________________

NEVER GIVE UP!

January 6th, 2011, 5:06 pm

TheRealWags

Megatron

Joined: December 31st, 2004, 9:55 amPosts: 12534

Re: ***OFFICIAL: Michigan fires Rodriguez after three season

FWIW

CFT wrote:

Elway on Harbaugh: ‘I think Michigan is back in the picture’Posted by John Taylor on January 7, 2011, 2:11 PM EST

By the time we hit “publish” on this post, it could very well be obsolete given how the whole Jim Harbaugh “situation” has twisted and turned the past few days. But, what the hell; it’s only time we’re wasting.

In the past 72 hours of the Harbaugh soap opera, we’ve seen the following developments: Michigan’s athletic director all but rule the Stanford coach out for their vacancy; Harbaugh declining an interview request from the Cleveland Browns and, later, the Denver Broncos; interviews with both the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins; the latter NFL club making a serious push for his services before reportedly being rebuffed; and his current school making a significant financial move to retain their current coach.

That’s roughly what’s transpired over the past three days. We think. However, could the whole Harbaugh situation be coming full circle, back to where it was before Rich Rodriguez was even fired by Michigan? At least one newly-minted NFL executive seems to think Ann Arbor is still in play.

Speaking on a Denver radio station Friday, Broncos executive John Elway said that he thinks Harbaugh wants to remain at his current level and, unbelievably, the Wolverines may still be an option for the coach.

“To me, it’s coming down to Stanford, and I think Michigan is back in the picture,” Elway said. “I think he wants to stay in the college level. ‘Cause we’ve been in touch with him, and they are aware we’d like to talk to him if he wants to go the NFL route.”

Well, that certainly adds another intriguing layer into the mix. Although — shameless plug alert ahead!!! — if you follow CFT on Twitter, you wouldn’t be the least bit surprised by Elway’s opinion.

That said, it still appears likely that Harbaugh will either remain on The Farm or move on to the 49ers. Again, though, don’t sleep on the Wolverines. At least not yet.

Detroit vs. EverybodyClowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right....

January 7th, 2011, 4:33 pm

thelomasbrowns

Player of the Year - Offense

Joined: August 24th, 2010, 9:54 pmPosts: 2871

Re: ***OFFICIAL: Michigan fires Rodriguez after three season

Harbaugh to San Fran. Done deal.

_________________"Good teams don't worry about a whole lot of stuff. They travel, they play, they win. And it doesn't matter where they go, what the time block is, all those kinds of things. They never seem to bother teams that play well, and we want to be one of those teams." -Jim Caldwell

January 7th, 2011, 5:17 pm

LionsFan4Life

Fired Head Coach (0-16 record)

Joined: October 30th, 2004, 12:30 pmPosts: 2205Location: Austin, TX

Re: ***OFFICIAL: Michigan fires Rodriguez after three season

thelomasbrowns wrote:

Harbaugh to San Fran. Done deal.

BOO!

_________________

NEVER GIVE UP!

January 7th, 2011, 5:32 pm

regularjoe12

Def. Coordinator – Teryl Austin

Joined: March 30th, 2006, 12:48 amPosts: 4212Location: Davison Mi

Re: ***OFFICIAL: Michigan fires Rodriguez after three season

Jerk...now I wish him to have a Nick Saban like NFL carreer! (yeah Im spiteful!!)

_________________2013 Lionbacker Fantasy Football Champion

January 7th, 2011, 5:51 pm

TheRealWags

Megatron

Joined: December 31st, 2004, 9:55 amPosts: 12534

Re: ***OFFICIAL: Michigan fires Rodriguez after three season

CFT wrote:

Miles interview with Michigan ‘expected to happen’Posted by John Taylor on January 8, 2011, 9:51 PM EST

And, it’s on.

Earlier today, LSU athletic director Joe Alleva issued a statement saying he has “not been contacted by anyone from the University of Michigan about Les Miles.”

That apparently is about to change.

ESPN.com‘s Joe Schad is reporting that Michigan has expressed an interest in interviewing Miles and that the interview is expected to take place. It’s unclear when the interview would actually happen.

One source told Schad that Miles, who has just a $1.25 million buyout if he were to leave for the Ann Arbor school, would give LSU 24 hours notice before interviewing; that notification has not yet happened. Another source said that Miles would be very interested in speaking to athletic director David Brandon.

If it goes down as reported, Miles would become the first known candidate to interview for the Michigan job since it came open last week.